Are You Suffering
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Gitte Marie Uggerhøj Johansen Master Thesis Aalborg University 2019 Are You Suffering? A Comprehensive Examination of Interpretations of Sadeian Literary Tropes and the Effects of Aggressive Sexual Practices 0 Gitte Marie Uggerhøj Johansen Master Thesis Aalborg University 2019 Abstract This thesis aims to examine how sadomasochism has been altered from the time of its production. Furthermore its aims to display how the dynamics of pleasure and pain in a sexual context can have an effect on general attitudes towards violence against women. To trace sadomasochism and its literary tropes through history, it is evident that the gothic period in England served as a distributing landscape that brought a censored version of the Marquis de Sade’s Justine into public domain. Romantic comedies in the 1950’s have also played a part in distributing Sadeian tropes as well as depicting desired traits of femininity, which are still prevalent today. Lastly, the contemporary cultural landscape suggests an increased demand for violent pornography. This demand functions as a regressive indicator of many conventional sexual practices. By examining sadomasochistic tendencies in popular erotic fiction, it is evident that traits of sadomasochism are common doing both sexual and non-sexual exchanges between men and women. Moreover, the increased aggressive discourse in pornography does not serve a common purpose with its inspirations, rather it affects online Incel communities which thrive on sexual frustration and exclusion. The effect of this discourse paves the way for the increasingly regressive conventions regarding free sexual expansion, biological power and finite freedom. 1 Gitte Marie Uggerhøj Johansen Master Thesis Aalborg University 2019 Tables of Contents Front Page……………………………………………………………………………...……0 Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………...1 Table of Contents…………………………………………………………………………...2 Introduction & Methodology………………………………………………………………3 How has sadomasochism been expressed and interpreted in various periodic contexts? Furthermore, how does the expression of the dynamics between pleasure and pain affect our relationship with gender and sexuality? 1. Before Sadomasochism & the Early Gothic Novel …………………….………….………6 Introduction: From French Critique to English Influence……………………………………..6 Historical Background: The Life of the Marquis de Sade……………………………………..8 Theory: The Greek Principle of Pleasure……………………………………………………11 Analysis: Echoes of Sade in the Gothic Novel………………………………………………12 Analysis: The Commentary of Religious Vice………………………………………………13 Analysis: The Creation of the Blonde Fantasy………………………………………………15 Accumulation: Sadeian Tropes in English Literature………………………………………..17 2. Exhibiting Deviances: Sexuality in the 20th Century ……………………….…………..19 Theory: The Ideology of Sacred Sex………………………………………………………………19 Theory: The Beautiful Death………………………………………………………...………23 Analysis: The Sadeian Bombshell of the 1950’s…………………………………………….25 Accumulation: Innocence and Experience in the 20th Century………………………………30 Historical Background: BD/SM and Its Contemporary Applications…………………..……31 Historical Background: The Reintroduction of Pleasure and Pain…………………………...32 Analysis: Pasolini’s Display of Equality in Salò…………………………………………….34 Analysis: The Rocky Horror Gender Depiction Show……………………………………….37 Accumulation: Sexual Deviances and Masculine Commentaries…………………………...40 3. Possessive Discourse in Mainstream Literature ………………………………....………41 Analysis: Contemporary Erotic Fiction and Subtle Power Plays…………………………….42 Analysis: Effects of Aggressive Sex………………………………………………………... 46 Historical Background: The Expansion of the Incel Community……………………………47 Discussion: The Possession of the Female Form………………………………………….....51 Discussion: Aggressive Media and the Pleasure of Dead Women…………………………...54 Discussion: Incels and Phrenology…………………………………………………………..56 Accumulation: Erotica’s Effect on Contemporary Audiences……………………………….59 Conclusion: The Dynamic between Pleasure and Pain…………………………………..62 Works Cited……………………………………………………………………………….. 66 2 Gitte Marie Uggerhøj Johansen Master Thesis Aalborg University 2019 Introduction & Methodology What is the difference between pleasure and pain? According to the Marquis de Sade there is none. According to some Victorian libertines, pain could vindicate you from your sins, and according to contemporary romance novelists, the exercise of pain is strictly a masculine engagement. This thesis aims to describe how a literary movement, which originated in France during the last years of the 18th century, became a salient component of the Western perception of sexual practices and dynamics, many centuries later. Moreover, the thesis will also aim to uncover some aspects and features which originally characterised sadomasochism. Moreover, this thesis will aim to uncover how these features have changed as a result of their adaptation into contemporary perceptions, and depictions, of sexual pleasure. The purpose of this thesis is to point towards traits and aspects in contemporary interpretations of sadomasochism and pornography which may have had effects and cultural consequences in context of the language of sex and the exercise of sexuality. Ultimately, the question is: how has sadomasochism been expressed and interpreted in various periodic contexts? Furthermore, how does the expression of the dynamics between pleasure and pain affect our relationship with gender and sexuality? The thesis has been divided into three chapters which each exhibit dynamics of sadomasochism, and sexuality in general. Thus, the composition of this thesis is structured in a chronological manner. As each chapter aims to exhibit its own individual period of time, the manner with which the relevant theories and historical pieces of background information are presented is in context of their own chronological chapter. As a result, one will find that each chapter will introduce new theories and items of analysis. The purpose of this structure is to provide an overall comprehensive overview of the sexual dynamics which are prevalent at each time period and in order to do so in the most efficient manner possible, the theories, as well as the historical pieces of background information, will be introduced gradually. By tracking the sexual mode of expression through history, it will thus become evident how the components and core values of sadomasochism have slowly been altered and changed. As a primary account, the first chapter concerns the origin of sadomasochism, that is, before it was recognised by that name. By looking at the life, as well as the publications, of its very first supporter, as well as introducing his cultural context, it will be significantly easier to comprehend the movement and its appreciation for violence and pain. Therefore, that chapter includes Michel Foucault’s account of the ancient Greek practices of sexuality 3 Gitte Marie Uggerhøj Johansen Master Thesis Aalborg University 2019 and as well as his historic perspective on the religious influences regarding sexual dynamics and practices of erotica. Furthermore, in order to relate the notions of a French author to that of the English literary tradition, an analysis, which will uncover a ripple effect from Sade and well into the early gothic period, will be carried out. This contextual analysis will include the iconic The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis and Zofloya, or the Moor by Charlotte Dacre. This is to show that not only is Sade by definition relevant in terms of the theory and expression of sexuality and pornography, but he is also relevant when one is looking to achieve an increased comprehension of the gothic literary period. The second chapter will provide the reader with an account of the sexual and cultural landscape of the 1970’s and 1980’s. These years are extremely relevant in terms of sexual history, due to the paradigm shift of sexual and cultural representation, and the activism which affected various social issues. However, before the chapter will dive into the analysis of the cultural landscape of the 1970’s and the texts which it produced, it will highlight the 1950’s blonde bombshell. The popular Marilyn Monroe films will function as a backdrop. The assessment will show that these films were part of the cause of several reactions a few decades later. It is the goal to highlight how sadomasochism was adopted by the LGBTQ community in America, and thus, how it became a core feature in film and literature which originated from this community. One example which will be put into context of this thesis is Richard O’Brien’s cult film The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Furthermore, it was also during this time that Pier Paolo Pasolini, the Italian director, produced Salò; a cinematic adaptation of the Marquis de Sade’s most notorious and infamous work, Les Cent Vingt Journées de Sodome. The chapter will also serve as an introduction to Angela Carter’s theory of sexuality and pornography. The reason for this inclusion has to do with the landscape she is occupied with, which is contemporary to the 1970’s. Furthermore, Carter’s theory will be utilised in order to thoroughly comprehend the components of heteronormative sexuality and the sexual expression of pornographic contents. This theory is relevant, firstly in order to understand how the aforementioned cultural objects of the 1970’s differ from the mainstream mentality. But likewise, because it will serve as a salient component when the following chapter aims to dissect contemporary pornography and its effects